In a moment of rare bipartisanship, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell released a statement calling for Russia to release Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich.
“We strongly condemn the wrongful detention of US citizen and Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, and demand the immediate release of this intentionally known and respected independent journalist,” the joint statement said on Friday.
Mr Gershkovich, 31, was arrested and detained in Russia in March on suspicion of espionage - a claim denied by the Wall Street Journal and the US government.
In their statement, Mr Schumer and Mr McConnell said: “Let there be no mistake: journalism is not a crime.”
The Democrat from New York and Republican from Kentucky called the charges against Mr Gershkovich “baseless” and “fabricated”, adding that Russian authorities have failed to provide credible evidence to justify their charges.
The Russian government claims Mr Gershkovich was spying on “one of the enterprises of the military defence complex” on behalf of the US government. Though the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB) did not name the facility, the location, or provide any photo or video evidence of the claims.
Mr Gershkovich’s last report, “Russia’s economy is starting to come undone,” was about Russia’s finances depleting.
The journalist’s arrest marks the first American reporter to be arrested on espionage charges in Russia since 1986.
However, other Americans have been “wrongfully detained,” including former Marine Paul Whelan, who was convicted of espionage in 2020 by a Moscow court and sentenced to 16 years in a Russian prison.
In their statement, Mr Schumer and Mr McConnell also called for the Kremlin to release Mr Whelan.
“Russia has a long and disturbing history of unjustly detaining US citizens in a judicial system that provides neither transparency nor justice,” the statement said.
The Senate leaders also accused Russia of violating international law by denying Mr Gershkovich consular access to the US Embassy.
According to a Russian state prison monitor, Mr Gershkovich was in a quarantine cell while undergoing medical checks but had access to a refrigerator, TV, and radio.
On 4 April, nearly a week after his arrest, lawyers were allowed to see Mr Gershkovich for the first time.
However, representatives from the US Embassy in Moscow have not been permitted to visit Mr Gershkovich.
US leaders including President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Anthony Blinken have also called on Russia to release Mr Gershkovich.
Mr Blinken told reporters on Wednesday that he had “no doubt” that Mr Gershkovich had been wrongfully detained. He said he demanded the journalist, as well as Mr Whelan, be released while on a call with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov.
The alarming situation has brought both Democrats and Republicans together to advocate for Mr Gershkovich’s freedom.
Mr Schumer and Mr McConnell’s statement ended with the Senate leaders condemning the Russian government for repressing journalists.
